| Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Talk/Variety show |
| Starring | Gerry Kelly |
| Country of origin | Northern Ireland |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | UTV |
| Original run | September 1989 – December 2005 |
Kelly was a talk and variety show that was hosted by broadcaster Gerry Kelly and was broadcast on UTV, between September 1989 till December 2005.
Contents |
The first episode of the show was broadcast on Ulster Television (renamed UTV in 1993) in September 1989. For the first year of the show, it was broadcast for one hour after the ITN News at Ten. In 1990, this was increased to 90 minutes, usually running from 10.40 pm – 12.10 am. In 1999 when ITV axed their News at Ten, the show moved to a new 9.00 pm one-hour slot, where it remained until the show ended in 2005. The highest-rated episode was broadcast on 10 November 2000, when a special edition dedicated to footballer George Best was watched by 367,000 viewers. In 2003, the show reached its 500th episode.
In 2005, UTV announced the end of the show. Despite calls to save the series from ending, the last ever episode was broadcast on 16 December 2005. Gerry Kelly has said that UTV were unhappy with the show airing in the 9 pm slot, as UTV had to opt out of ITV's network schedule. Instead of moving the show to a new night or slot, UTV took the decision to axe it completely.